§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for Trade what information he has about the average retail price of imported shirts from both Hong Kong and Portugal during 1974; and whether these prices are lower than the production costs of British shirts.
§ Mr. DeakinsOfficial statistics do not make possible the accurate identification of the retail price of shirts from particular sources. We are advised, however, that a typical retail price for a shirt imported from a low-cost source such as Hong Kong or Portugal would be £2 to £3 and that the production cost of a shirt made in the United Kingdom would be within the same range, depending on the source and the cost of the material used.